What Are We Going to Name That Kid?



My wife and I are expecting our second child sometime towards the end of October. We’re doing what most parents do during the months of incubation where the former zygote assumes a more human/less tadpole form inside my wife’s ever-expending-but-still-dead-sexy-stomach—we’re trying to name our forthcoming tax break. With our first son, Elijah, we pretty much had his named picked from the start. This bipedal poop factory is turning out to be more difficult to name, especially in the girl’s names department. The difficulty is not so much in finding names we like, but in finding names with meaning (that we like). This is important to us. We want our children’s names to be a declaration of belief. Our son Elijah’s name means, “YHWH is God” or “YHWH is my God.” This is a declaration of our faith. But we don’t want their names to be declarations of our faith only.

We want it to be a declaration of their faith as well. When Elijah is old enough to understand I’ll explain to him that every time he says his name, writes his name, or sees his name, that he is speaking something about his very nature, about his roots and his faith. My only hope is that his life will be a reflection of his name. Names in Scripture defined who you were. Today we define ourselves by what we do, not by who we are, by our accomplishments, not our character. I’m not horribly concerned with what our children do with their respective careers. If they want to work in a diaper wipe factory then so be it. While I of course want the best for them both, all I ultimately care about is that they live up to the names that they are given.

Now do you see why it’s so difficult to pick out a name? 

Admire-a-holic



Unlike the admirer who stands simply aloof, the follower of Christ strives to be what he admires. Without this essential condition all attempts to be a Christian are fruitless. __Soren Kierkegaard__

I’ve probably written about this at some point over the last couple years, but it bears repeating nonetheless. The slow decline of the American church into irrelevancy is due largely in part to the very problem that Kierkegaard points to above. The admirer stands aloof, stands apart as Christ draws near, lauding his message and life, his death and resurrection and the highest of ideals, the loftiest of achievements, but never deigning to enter in and be overcome by them as a follower. It is a false piety, full of flowery language, lofty ideals, academic knowledge, and, perhaps, even a rabid involvement in the programs of the local church. But there is little resemblance to the Christ. This malady is not to be confused with those who genuinely desire and attempt to follow Christ yet struggle and fail to do so more often than not. Attempts to follow that are met with failure in the form of sin are part of the following process, part of our discipleship. Peter may not have been the leader of the Church that he was without his denial of Jesus. Paul’s effectiveness came from acknowledgement and acceptance of his past and present failings. You’ll find this shocking (probably not), but I’ve too often been an admirer of Jesus. I read ravenously, inhaling books and knowledge, like Michael Phelps with a bong (cheap shot, I know). I ooh and aah at the life of Jesus, at his teachings, at the insights of others into his teachings, but I often fail to begin the process of entering in to those teachings, into the life of God-in-flesh. And this life of Jesus is LIFE itself. There is not other life outside of Him. My attempts to be a Christian apart from living the life of Christ are pointless, aimless, and “fruitless.” There is no Christianity without following Christ.  

shalom, matt

Jon and Kate

At one point in this interview the woman being interviewed seems actually happy that Jon and Kate might be in trouble (around 1:22). I don't watch the show because I have a life, but when a potential divorce involving 8 kids is suddenly entertaining and we "can't wait to see what Kate does to him" we have sunk to a big time low.


shalom, matt